Courtesy Tyler Kruse Tyler Courtesy August 2019 From the governor: Local leaders tackle tough issues ow do a state — and a nation — move forward on H the toughest of issues? The answers lie in the laws we enact and the actions we take to resolve differences and address common concerns. This edition of Capitol Connec- tion highlights several legislative bills Governor Ige recently signed into law and looks ahead to how we can protect our community during hurricane season. Q. What’s most challenging about the bill review process? A. As governor, I have only the three options: sign the bill into law, veto it or let it become law without my signature. I take public comments and the views of state agencies into account and ask, “Is it the right thing to do for the people of Hawai‘i?” The measures I veto may have some merit but propose something that is in error legally or violates the state constitution or it may just not be good policy. The bills that become law without my signature might involve concerns I have with the process, or I might disagree with parts of the measure, but they’re not so egregious that I would veto the whole bill. Q. What bills in particular do you want to highlight, especially as they relate to your priorities? A. Measures to help us address affordable housing and homelessness are continuing priorities for me. Gov. Ige with the Women’s Legislative The legislature supported us with a $167 million to keep the momentum going for building more rent- Caucus and Caroline Kennedy. als and investing in infrastructure. The housing task force we created in 2015 helped us lay the foundation to leverage private sector support. Now affordable housing developers are coming here because they know we’re serious about building these units. The legis- lature also provided additional homelessness funds for Housing First and other programs because they know they work. Q. What did we learn from last year’s hurricane season and the Kīlauea eruption that can help us handle emergencies this year? A. We learned how important it is to coordinate at all levels of government and make sure everyone is on the same page. We were able to establish stronger ties with our federal partners, who better understand our state’s unique vulnerabilities. They were also impressed with how the state and counties worked together to handle last year’s flooding and the Kīlauea eruption. I think the mayors and myself recognize we need to focus on keeping people safe and not get bogged down in politics. I’m especially proud of the way members of the community stepped forward to help those affected by these disasters. On a national level, streamlining how states receive aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is one of the priorities I’m working on as co-chair of the Council of Governors — to reduce paperwork and provide funds to the states faster (See Page 3 story). Q. Sen. Mazie Hirono and former ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy spoke recently about the importance of local leadership and Hawai‘i being an example for the world. Why do you see that as important? A. Both of them reminded us that cities and states have to step up when the federal government doesn’t — whether it involves civil rights, the rights of women or climate change. In the U.S. Climate Alliance, we governors decided to commit to fighting global warm- ing, even though the U.S. withdrew from the Paris climate accord. I think it’s sad that so many of these issues involving basic human or reproductive rights have become part of a political “divide-and-conquer” scenario. Caroline Kennedy reminded us, as her father did in 1963, that true equality will happen first locally. What her father said more than 50 years ago is even more relevant today. New laws to move forward on state’s key issues n the past two months, Governor Ige has joined with legislators and I advocates to sign into law dozens of bills that affect virtually every segment of the community, including measures that advance the gover- nor’s major initiatives in housing and homelessness, sustainability and education. The signing ceremonies represent the culmination of often years of work by stakeholders to improve policies and programs. Here are some highlights from recent bill signings. For a full list of new laws, go to https:// governor.hawaii.gov, then scroll to “Bills signed or vetoed.” (Look for a summary of more bills in the September Capitol Connection.) Gov. Ige with legislators and affordable housing partners at bill signing. AFFORDABLE HOUSING • HB1312 (Act 189) will add $100 million to the Rental Housing Revolving Fund over the next two years. This is in addition to $67 million added to the Dwelling Unit Revolving Fund via Act 40 for infrastructure and land acquisitions. “These funds will help us keep the momentum going in building more affordable housing,” said the governor. We’ve completed 6,700 units and we have 7,700 more in the pipeline — 80 percent of them affordable.” HOMELESSNESS AND MENTAL HEALTH • HB257 (Act 128) extends the ‘Ohana Zones Pilot, the Emergency Department Assessment Pilot and the Medical Respite Pilot Courtesyprograms. Turtle Bay Together, Resort they seek to decrease emergency room visits, provide temporary housing and places for the homeless to recover once they are discharged from the hospital. SB1124 (Act 129) encourages the use of coordinated community treatment of those with severe mental illness, and SB 567 (Act 130) appropriates $100,000 to the Department of Health to help families navigate the legal process in seeking help for a family member with an untreated mental illness. HB330 (Act 180) appropriates $150,000 to the Department of Health for youth suicide prevention. PUBLIC SAFETY, CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM REFORM • HB1552 (Act 179) establishes the Hawai‘i Correc- tional System Oversight Commission to provide inde- pendent oversight of the state’s correctional system to improve conditions and programs as well as the crimi- nal pretrial system. The new commission and oversight coordinator will work with the director of public safety to prevent overcrowding at facilities, expand rehab services, and investigate complaints. The hope is to reduce the inmate population, reduce spending and reduce repeat offenders. Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald (center) joins the governor, key legislators and advocates for reform. IMPROVING THE ELECTIONS PROCESS • HB1248 (Act 136) requires elections to be conducted by mail, starting with the 2020 primary election. Hawai‘i joins at least 22 other states that allow certain elections to be conducted entirely by mail. There will still be voter service centers open10 busi- Courtesy House of Representatives ness days prior to election day and on election day. SB216 (Act 135) requires a vote recount when the margin of victory is equal to or less than 100 or one-quarter one percent of the votes cast — whichever is greater. WOMEN’S LEGISLATIVE CAUCUS •Hawai‘i has become the first state in the nation to remove a requirement through SB1039 (Act 176) that persons must prove they were victims of sex trafficking to have a prostitution conviction expunged from their records and who have avoided additional convictions for three years. SB1037 (Act 175) amends the offense of “abuse of a family or household member” to clarify that bodily injury does not have to be visible to establish the offense of strangulation. HB483 (Act 177) ex- tends the deadline for the Legislative Reference Bureau to finish a study relating to the Patsy Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act (Title IX). U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono with Gov. Ige. The Caucus dedicated its bill package to Sen. Mazie Hirono, one of the co-founders of the group when she served in the legislature 20 years ago. “Women working together makes a huge difference,” she emphasized. “Nationally, there’s an all-out assault on women’s health and women’s right to choose, voting rights, civil rights — all these rights are being challenged. That is why it is so important that a lot of these protections get enacted at the state level. There’s a lot of focus on what states can do to protect our democracy. I commend you for your continued advocacy. It’s good to know that dec- ades later we’re still fighting back.” HI-EMA urges residents to prepare, stay vigilant e’ve all heard the advice about two-week supply kits, family W emergency plans and prepping for possible hurricane damage. But how many of us are taking the advice seriously? As the head of Ha- wai‘i’s Emergency Management Agency, Tom Travis worries about that as much as the next hurricane or tsunami alert. NEW KONA AIRPORT PHOTO TO COME “The foundation on which emergency management is built is the local community,” he said. “The stronger you can make your community, the Courtesy PID better it is for everyone.” Travis knows this first-hand — from his years of living in Kapoho on Hawai‘i island and from his military and civilian expe- rience as a former national security analyst, including working on the federal government response to Hurricane Katrina. Travis came out of retirement in 2018 at the urging of his old friend, HI -EMA administrator Tom Travis in the State Emergency Operations Center. Mayor Harry Kim, to help restore public confidence in HI-EMA after the false missile alert. What he didn’t anticipate were the 2018 historic floods, the Kīlauea ARE YOU READY? • Build an emergency kit—now. Visit eruption and Hurricane Lane that battered the islands.